Permits OK'd for new Ukiah hospital building

After expressing concern about retaining and replacing trees, the Ukiah Planning Commission approved a plan to add a new building to the Ukiah Valley Medical Center.

"This project will gather all the inefficient buildings on the east side and collect them all into one, much more efficient, building," applicant Charles Ackerley of the San Francisco firm LIONAKIS told the commission at its Sept. 11 meeting.

Ackerley requested permits to build an 11,200-square-foot Hospital Support Building and provide temporary parking and trailers during construction. The HSB will be built on an existing parking lot on the north side of the hospital campus, displacing 49 parking spaces.

Susan Sher, a resident of the surrounding Wagenseller neighborhood, told the commission she was disappointed with the lack of notice she and the other residents had received about the project.

"I live on Clara Avenue right behind the employee parking lot, and I was very surprised that the only notice I got of this project was from the planning department, not the hospital," Sher said. "We're very upset at what appears to be the hospital thumbing its nose at the neighborhood.'"

Sher went on to say that UVMC previously received a permit to expand its emergency department and relocate its heliport while a new one is built.

"(This construction) staging area appears to be the temporary heliport," Sher continued. "And it appears we'll have construction noise for at least nine months, then are we going to have helicopters landing? As it is now, the helicopters are ignoring the flight plan. They're flying very low and very loud right over our houses; it's like living in a war zone. It's forcing people to consider selling their homes, me included."

Commission member Judy Pruden said she had heard from other nearby residents who were upset about not being notified, and Commission Chairman Mike Whetzel asked UVMC staff to respond.

Grant Parker, who said he was UVMC's vice president of finance, said he would be "more than happy to facilitate a conversation with the neighborhood to talk about these issues."

"You're a little late," Pruden said. "You have a large, high-density neighborhood to the north of you, and they shouldn't be fearful of their neighbor."

Commissioner Linda Sanders said she liked the project, but had concerns about a valley oak tree being removed.

"I'd like another valley oak planted somewhere else, and I would like some protection for the valley oaks in Lot 8," Sanders said. "And I am thrilled that the meditation garden is not going to be (affected)."

"I, too, have concerns about the valley oak," said Commissioner Kevin Doble. "I need a pretty compelling argument for why we're not replacing it. I don't like the trend of replacing larger, older trees with smaller trees, and I'd like to see a greater than one-to-one ratio for replacing trees.

A project representative tasked with planning the landscaping said "we'll try and save the oaks if we can, and we can certainly look for a place to add a valley oak."

Whetzel suggested that perhaps in the next phase of construction, the "hospital can add an oak or two."

With conditions added for tree protection, the commission approved the requested permits unanimously.

Justine Frederiksen can be reached at udjjf@ukiahdj.com, on Twitter @JustFrederiksen or at 468-3521.